Large Church Pastors Cohort

DTS is pleased to offer a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree in Ministry Leadership with an emphasis for Pastors of Large Churches.

This program is formatted as a modified cohort in which the same group of students will go through a select portion of the program together. This program will use procedure similar to the Harvard Business School case study approach.

The Large Church Pastor emphasis will be taught by Andy Seidel and Brad Smith. Andy Seidel is the Executive Director of The Howard Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership. Brad Smith is the President of Northwest Graduate School, Seattle, WA. Brad was the President/CEO of the Leadership Network initiated by Peter Drucker through Bob Buford for the purpose of facilitating innovation in churches, religious non-profits and leaders refocusing on community causes in the second half of their lives.

Each student will be encouraged to be part of a group of 3-5 individuals that will form a "Band of Brothers" type of fellowship and encouragement group. Between Cohort I and II, the members of the group will be required to attend L.E.A.D. (3 credit hours) together with their spouses. L.E.A.D (DM510) is a sponsored by The Howard Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership.

This method of study will be an excellent opportunity for students to interact and learn from others in their same areas of ministry. Case studies will be developed in evaluation of church problems, programs and/or procedures unique to large church pastoral leaders. Attention is given to leadership development and case-study research method. Each case will be developed around a ministry setting that will enhance the student’s ministry. All case studies will be read by the instructors and fellow students. Some student case studies may be presented in class.

The cohorts will involve onsite field trips to large area churches. Seasoned professionals will also be invited to class to discuss case studies in their designated areas of ministry. The objective is to provide students with practical ideas that can be immediately useful to their ministry.

Each student will be required to write a Dissertation. Students normally will use the two case studies prepared for class for their dissertation project.

Applicants must possess an accredited MDiv of ThM degree or equivalent, with two years of Greek and one year of Hebrew. Prospective students with three semesters of Greek may apply. Prospective students with an accredited Master of Christian Education degree, without Greek and Hebrew, will be required to take a 3-hour modular computer biblical language tools course.

Suzanne Martinez

Burdened by the need for healthy leadership in the Church and marketplace, Suzanne launched SFM Consulting & Associates in 2006 to support pastors and corporate leaders with these growing stresses and demands of leadership. Her beliefs and experiences underscore that the success of any organization is directly impacted by the quality and health of its leadership. She desires to help pastors and corporate leaders renew their vision, maximize leadership gifts and organizational performance, and build healthy leadership organizations.

Rod MacIlvaine

In 1995 Rod and his wife planted Grace Community Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, a community home to a number of oil related companies. The community changed significantly in the aftermath of the ConocoPhillips merger, and in the past two and one half years, Rod has aggressively transitioned the church in a missional direction with intent to serve the city. In the past five years, they’ve been very active in training new pastors in Central Cuba using Precept Ministries and Celebrate Recovery.

Chuck Larsen

Born and raised in Omaha, Chuck joined the Navy in 1965 and spent nearly 17 years on active duty. He holds an Associates Degree in Business Administration from De Mar College, a Bachelor in Theology from William Tyndale College, and a Master of Theology in Bible Exposition from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Kathy, have two grown children, Charles and Jeremiah. They are also proud grandparents of Ty Jeremy (TJ). He is currently Senior Pastor of Country Bible Church in Blair, Nebraska